Address:Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003

Phone: (413) 545-0264Fax: (413) 545-0996
janbul@psych.umass.edu

Position:
Professor - Emeritus (as of May 2016)
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
(faculty member at UMass since 1976)University Distinguished Teaching Award

Ph.D., 1977, Northwestern University

Editor, Psychological Inquiry: An International Journal for the Advancement of Psychological Theory
(2010 - present))

U N I V E R S I T Y OF M A S S A C H U S E T T S AT A M H E R S T

RONNIE JANOFF-BULMAN

My research focuses on MORALITY:

1) How does a morality based in “shoulds” differ from a morality based in “should nots”?

Morality involves two distinct types of self-regulation, reflected in the most basic motivational distinction—approach and avoidance. We have distinguished between these two types of moral regulation, which we label “prescriptive” and “proscriptive” morality respectively. The prescriptive (approach-based) system activates positive motivations (e.g., to help), whereas the proscriptive (avoidance-based) system inhibits negative motivations (e.g., to lie, steal, cheat). Our research focuses on how these two differ. For example, the proscriptive system is more mandatory and involves blame for immorality, whereas the prescriptive system is more discretionary and involves credit for morality. We have also explored the negative outcomes associated with an imbalance in these systems, as in recent work focused on punitive parenting (which emphasizes proscriptive morality).

2) What is the relationship between political ideology and morality?

We have developed a 6-cell Model of Moral Motives that includes ways of being moral when considering only the self, our interactions with specific others, and the larger collective. In studying these distinct ways of being moral, we have explored differences based on politics. Liberals and conservatives differ on the group-based (collective) moralities, but not the intrapersonal interpersonal ways of being moral. However, in contrast to the strong claims of Moral Foundation Theory (MFT), it is not the case that only conservatives have a group-based morality. Instead, liberals and conservatives both have a binding, group-based morality—Social Order in the case of conservatives, and Social Justice in the case of liberals. MFT’s binding moral foundations are all aspects of a Social Order morality, and thus MFT does not include a binding morality that would be endorsed by liberals.

3) How do fairness and social justice differ, and what are the implications of these differences?

Fairness and social justice are unique moral motives in our Model of Moral Motives, and we have been exploring the differences between the two. Fairness is an interpersonal morality that is individuating and based in proportionality; that is, we need to know the attributes or inputs of specific others. In contrast, social justice is group-based and deindividuating; here resources are distributed, or shared, based on common group membership. We have found that endorsement of fairness and social justice are orthogonal—they are not correlated, and people can readily switch back and forth between the two principles. Liberals and conservatives do not differ in their endorsement of fairness, but differ strongly in their endorsement of social justice, which is positively associated with liberalism. We are currently exploring differences in motivation and cognitive processing (e.g., construal level) underlying these two distributional principles.

Janoff-Bulman, R. (2011). Conscience: The do's and don'ts of moral regulation. In M. Mikulciner & P. Shaver (Eds.), The social psychology of morality: Exploring the causes of good and evil (pp. 131-148). Washington DC: American psychological Association..

Styron, T. H.,
Janoff-Bulman, R., & Davidson, L. (2000)."Please ask me how I am":
Experiences of family homelessness in the context of single mothers' lives. Journal
of Social Distress and the Homeless, 9, 143-165.

Janoff-Bulman, R. (1993). "Assuring a focus on people at the World Summit for Social
Development." Written on behalf of SPSSI for the Secretary-General of the
United Nations, distributed in accordance with Economic and Social Council
Resolution 1296.